May 13, 2013 – Game 7, Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
BOSTON, MA – MAY 13: Patrice Bergeron #37, Tyler Seguin #19, and Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins celebrate following Bergeron’s game-winning overtime goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 13, 2013 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
The Bruins were the first ones back, actually taking the ice on the night of Wednesday, April 17, two days after the bombing and one night before the shootout that led to the killing and capture of the two Tsarnaev brothers. On the video board of the TD Garden before the game, the team recognized first responders with a tribute shown to the song and lyrics of “Home” by Phillip Phillips.
Settle down, it’ll all be clearDon’t pay no mind to the demonsThey fill you with fear
Truly congregating for the first time since the bombings, the Garden crowd banded for a tingling, communal rendition of the national anthem, then gathered behind the Bruins for what proved to be a 3-2 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres, though the outcome of the game was far less meaningful than arriving for it in the first place.
“No, it really didn’t [matter],” said Bruins center Patrice Bergeron. “It was about the city coming together. It was very special to be a part of, definitely a night I’ll remember.”
Said Bruins coach Claude Julien: “The one thing I sense from our team is that we have the ability to maybe help people heal and find some reason to smile again, by giving them that, by representing our city properly.”
Offered defenseman Andrew Ference: “We all knew this was not just another game. It meant a lot to people as another step [in the healing process]. It was no different for us on the ice with the memory of the last couple of days.”
And, of course, with the Tsarnaev brothers still at large.
Though the Bruins did not win the Stanley Cup that spring, their play nonetheless galvanized the region, most notably on the night of Monday, May 13, precisely four weeks after the bombings. After building a 3-1 lead in their best-of-7, first-round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Bruins lost both Games 5and 6. They then trailed Game 7 by a 4-1 score roughly halfway through the third and final period when they mounted one of the most incredible comebacks in Boston sports history, scoring three times in the final 10:42 of regulation, the final tally coming from Bergeron with 51 seconds left as goaltender Tuukka Rask, who had been pulled for an extra attacker, watched from the Boston bench.
Shortly thereafter, just 6:05 into the first overtime period, Bergeron collected the rebound of his own shot amid a cluster of sticks, skates and players, securing an improbable 5-4 victory that propelled the Bruins into the next round of the playoffs and, ultimately, the Stanley Cup finals, where they eventually succumbed to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.
Even in defeat, however, the words of former 98.5 The Sports Hub employee and Bruins radio announcer Dave Goucher still echo throughout Boston sports history.
“Bergeron! Bergeron! In Game 7! And the Bruins win the series!”
Bostonians, meanwhile, were winning back their city.
David Ortiz’ Speech
BOSTON, MA – APRIL 20: David Ortiz #34 of the Boston Red Sox speaks during a pre-game ceremony in honor of the bombings of Marathon Monday before a game at Fenway Park on April 20, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
The Red Sox were in the process of departing for Cleveland when word of the bombings had first reached them, a reality that inspired the club to hold a team dinner upon their arrival in that city. The day had begun with a 3-2, walkoff win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Patriots Day that ended roughly 40 minutes before the first explosion at the marathon, then concluded with the somber gathering more than 600 miles away. The Red Sox subsequently swept the three-game series at Cleveland, where they played – as they would all season – with a ceremonial jersey hanging in their dugout.
Along with the number 617 – the area code for greater Boston – the jersey featured a two-word phrase that became a rallying cry throughout the weeks, months and years after the bombings: Boston Strong.
By the time the Red Sox had returned home on Saturday, April 20 – the scheduled April 19 return had been postponed during the lockdown that led to the capture of the younger Tsarnaev brother – the Red Sox returned to their home, Boston’s kitchen and the unofficial heart of Boston, toting an 11-4 record for a game with the Kansas City Royals. Like the Bruins, the Red Sox held a pregame ceremony that felt like a town meeting, when mythical Sox slugger David Ortiz authored the most memorable moment of his Sox career.
Dressed in home uniforms uniquely adorned with the word BOSTON – at home, the players typically had the words RED SOX emblazoned on their uniform chests – Ortiz issued a brief statement that lasted fewer than 40 seconds but still reverberates.
“These jerseys that we’re wearing today, it doesn’t say `Red Sox.” It says `Boston,’ “ Ortiz spoke in English, his second language. “We want to thank you Mayor [Tom} Menino, Governor {Deval] Patrick, the whole police department for the great job that they did this past week.”
Ortiz then raised his fist and bellowed the words that became the next rallying cry.
“This is our fucking city,” he said, “and nobody is going to dictate our freedom.”
A crowd that seemed stunned then erupted in support.
The Red Sox won that day to improve to 12-4, then never really stopped.
Ortiz and the 2013 Red Sox
BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 13: David Ortiz #34 of the Boston Red Sox hits a game-tying grand slam in the eighth inning against the Detroit Tigers during Game Two of the American League Championship Series at Fenway Park on October 13, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
After two substandard years in 2011-12 that signaled the end of the era shepherded by general manager Theo Epstein and manager Terry Francona, a most surprising Red Sox team managed by John Farrell went 97-65 and won the American League East. Boston defeated Tampa Bay by a 3-1 series score in the American League Division Series before facing a favored Detroit Tigers outfit in the AL Championship Series, when, like the Bruins, they appeared destined to meet their end.
After losing Game 1 of the ALCS against the Tigers at Fenway Park, the Red Sox trailed Game 2 by a 5-1 score in the eighth inning when Boston loaded the bases with two outs. And so up came Ortiz, who represented the tying run in a series that had theretofore been dominated by a brilliant Detroit pitching staff.
BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 13: Boston police officer Steve Horgan reacts as Torii Hunter #48 of the Detroit Tigers tries to catch a grand slam hit by David Ortiz #34 of the Boston Red Sox in the eighth inning of Game Two of the American League Championship Series at Fenway Park on October 13, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
With one swing of his bat, Ortiz delivered the most thunderous, rippling, singular blow of his career, a grand slam that tied the score at 5 and propelled the Red Sox to a series-altering 6-5 victory. The Red Sox went on to win the series in six games. They then defeated the St. Louis Cardinal in six games to claim the World Series. The final victory of the Boston baseball season took place at Fenway Park, just a relatively short walk from the finish line and bombing site of the Boston Marathon, the first time in nearly a century that Boston celebrated a World Series championship on its home field.
Braced by another extraordinary comeback, Boston was back on its feet.
“In a time of need, in response to a tragedy, you know, I go back to our players understanding their place in this city,” said Farrell. “They kind of, for lack of a better way to describe it, they get it. They get that there’s, I think, a [civic] responsibility that we have wearing this uniform, particularly here in Boston. And it became a connection [instantly], the way our guys reached out to individuals or to hospital visits. And it continued to build throughout the course of the season. I think our fans, they got to a point where they appreciated the way we played the game, how they cared for one another. And in return they gave us this incredible amount of energy to thrive on in this ballpark.”
Said outfielder Jonny Gomes in his perhaps his most poignant comment as a member of the Red Sox: “I don’t think a won-loss record sums up how much we care about this city. I’ll tell you what: I don’t think we put Boston on our back. I think we jumped on [its] back.”
In 2013, the Red Sox went 53-28 at Fenway Park during the regular season, 6-2 during the playoffs. No other American League team did a better job of protecting its own house.
April 2023
MONTREAL, CANADA – APRIL 13: Trent Frederic #11 of the Boston Bruins (C) celebrates his goal with teammates David Pastrnak #88 (L) and Tyler Bertuzzi #59 (R) during the first period against the Montreal Canadiens at Centre Bell on April 13, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Ten years later, the effects of April 15 endure, the memories delivering both heartache and hope. Martin Richard, an 8-year-old tragically killed by the first of the two explosions, would have been 18 now. Many others have lived without limbs, their lives permanently altered. For them, a “new normal” has left a past impossible to forget. For all of us, April 15, 2013 has left a tragedy important to remember.
The teams? They are in varying states of development now, though they collectively remain as important to us as ever. The Red Sox are reeling. The Patriots are searching. The Bruins and Celtics have their sights squarely fixed on the city’s next championship – or championships? – and the most recent hockey season in Boston was unlike any other in memory. The Bruins set an NHL record for victories and points, a performance that seemingly came from nowhere and served as something of a renaissance for the era marked by the leadership of many, specifically Patrice Bergeron.
And so, this spring, in Boston, we continue to celebrate comebacks.
